author of when Ice Cold: A Hip-Hop Jewelry HistoryVicki Tobak walks the tightrope between hip-hop music and the fashion industry, precision guiding her research. As she applies this expertise to curating an exhibition that shares a theme with her book, she presents an immersive narrative of the evolution of the musical genre over the past five decades with historically significant and culturally invaluable artifacts .

On view in the Melissa and Keith Meister Gallery within the Allison and Roberto Mignone Hall of Gems and Minerals at the American Museum of Natural History, Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry Celebrates the cultural impact of hip-hop through custom-made jewelry of its biggest stars, including Slick Rick, A$AP Rocky, Nicki Minaj, The Notorious B.I.G., Bad Bunny, Erykah Badu and many more.

Tyler, the Creator | Photo Credit: Photo by Cam Hicks

“I have always been interested in how hip-hop touches part of our shared humanity and how hip-hop visuals – including jewelry – are expressed through fashion. This includes ways of dressing and posing, as well as the politics of sneaker culture and fashion,” shares Vicky, who is co-curated with Kevin “Coach K” Lee, founder and COO of Quality Control Music. , and Karam Gill. Creative director and filmmaker behind the 2021 documentary series ice cold.

Erykah Badu | Photo Credit: Photo by Tony Crush

With a total of 66 pieces of jewelery on display, the exhibition has been organized over a period of one year, and it was no easy feat. “There were many challenges: one was to convince all the artists to give up their jewelery for a year; And the other thing was that a lot of the pieces that I had written about in the book and reached out to were no longer there. They were either lost or stolen. In times of difficulty some were sold or melted down. An example of this is the 50 Cent spinner medallion, which is an iconic piece, the other is the rapper Cam’ron’s spinning globe piece – these were two pieces I was really hoping to get into the show, but they no longer exist, Vicky says.

Crafty Rick Photo credit: Photo by Janet Beckman, courtesy of Fahey/Klein Gallery

When it comes to hip-hop fashion, Vicky began to look at how jewelery is used as a communication tool to highlight identity. “Style is a visual communication. Hip-hop took that dialogue forward and, with clarity of vision and black diasporic history, rose all the way to global dominance – unapologetic, charismatic, and dripping in street savvy. “Artists use jewelery to express their individuality, their identity, loyalty to neighbourhood, gang, brotherhood, label affiliation etc,” she says.

After Run-DMC’s 1986 song “My Adidas”, Adidas made a first-of-its-kind endorsement deal with the group, giving each member one of these 14-karat gold sneaker-shaped pendants. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Interestingly, two of the oldest pieces of jewelry on view are Kool Herc’s leather medallion and DJ Divine’s nameplate from the late 1970s. The retrospective look evolved from pieces like an Adidas pendant owned by Jam Master Jay and a Roxanne Shanté ring from the ’90s and 2000s called the Juice Crew ring.

Featuring white and pink gold, this custom diamond-studded Queensbridge pendant was commissioned by Nas from Pristine Jewelers in 2018 in memory of the Queensbridge House in Queens, New York, where he grew up. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

“That’s when hip-hop started to step into its power, when it became an industry. You start to see Nas’ pieces like the Queensbridge pendant and Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah golden eagle bracelet or arm cuff, which has been a big crowd-pleaser. You have Nicki Minaj’s Barbie pendant, which is a great example of this kind of nameplate history,” says Vicky.

Nicki Minaj’s iconic Barbie pendant – featuring 54.47 carats of diamonds set in 18 karat gold and dazzling Barbie-pink enamel – was created by Aashna Mehta in 2022 and is a recent commission by Minaj, whose first Barbie pendant was made in 2009. Is of. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Looking at the influence of hip-hop on global culture, particularly fashion, Vicky is engaged in weaving an elaborate mosaic that intersects uncomfortable realities, particularly those associated with the politics of race. She offers ample examples of the systemic exclusion she faced with the hip-hop community and the concomitant rise of designers like Dapper Dan, who created early custom leather pieces for rappers. “He started making them because big designers didn’t want to work with hip-hop artists. “Since big brands were not offering services to hip hop artists in terms of both styles and level of customization, neighborhood jewelers like Jacob the Jeweler, Tito Caicedo and Eddie Plein worked with the artists,” shares Vicky.

Ghostface Killah | Photo Credit: Photo by Atsuko Tanaka

She says that with hip-hop jewelry, it’s almost impossible to separate the gems from larger narratives of politics, identity and race and historical complexity. “That’s where I wanted to start as the foundation for this story. It was really important to set the tone of street culture, African aesthetics and historical connotations,” she says, crediting the rise of street fashion to the genre, which brought sneakers and sportier motifs to the runways that dictated high-fashion trends. Are.

Through January 5, 2025, at The American Museum of Natural History, New York. Articles viewed are not for sale.